It’s been three years since Jeremiah Blake and bibliophile William Avery teamed up in India for what was one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read recently (The Strangler Vine) — getting in on the ground floor as it were of a new series. Â The Infidel Stain takes us to London in the early 1840s, into the orbit of publishers and pornographers, dissidents and rebels. Â Oh, and of course, murder. Â It’s one of those novels that just oozes with atmosphere of dank and dark London, after a terrifying time in the dangerous jangals of India. Our heroes have become something of celebrities given their encounter with Xavier Mountstuart. Â We learn a little more about the mysterious Jeremiah Blake’s background in this novel, which was interesting, to say the least. Â We don’t get much more of Avery, which I would have enjoyed. Â Maybe the only thing I’d have expected was that ardent bibliophile William Avery, on a rare visit to The City would indulge himself in a visit to a bookshop.
Historically rich, and textured, a thriller that had me reading late in huge gulps.
Ok, an admission: I liked the first book better. Â But with reports of Blake & Avery 3 well underway, I can’t wait to see what happens next. This book was published as The Printer’s Coffin in the United Kingdom.